White Lies
by eXtreme eVolution
Summary: A Conner/Kira/Trent story based on "The Missing Bone" and written as POVs. Storyline might deviate later on.
1. White Deceit

**White Lies**

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Disclaimer: I own the characters in PRDT. Their lives revolve around mine. And guess what? I meant the opposite of whatever I said earlier. The events in the story are based on "The Missing Bone", whatever happens after that may or may not be parallel to the actual storyline.

Author's Note: The story will be mostly Conner/Kira/Trent and will be written as a compilation of POVs.

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**Trent**

In order to win a game, you have to know your opponents. Well, I'd say I'm playing the game pretty well so far. Spying on them is a piece of cake. I smile to myself as I stand well hidden from the rangers.

"You guys heard from Trent yet?" I hear the high school jock ask.

"No, I'm not sure I really want to." Ouch. Too bad she will be hearing from me more than she wants to...

"We gotta make sure he doesn't go off on some poor freshman 'cos the kid won't give him his lunch money." Ethan just cracks me up. He can be SO immature.

Conner goes on, "Yeah, you know what? I think he's after a little more than a free grilled cheese." Sure I am. I'm after ham, lettuce and tomatoes too.

"And when we know what that is, maybe we can deal. But till then, we keep an eye on him."

Whatever. After all this time, I still dislike the colour yellow. I watch them in silence as they head for their classroom, then phase through the blue lockers and step out into the empty corridor.

With my eyes still glued to the spot just outside the classroom door where the rangers stood moments before, I smirk, "Watch me all you want, it won't make a difference." As I begin to plan my next move, a booming voice echoes over the announcement system. "Trent Fernandez, please report to the principal's office. Trent Fernandez!"

Randall. What a waste of time.

* * *

"Trent, I've called you here because there's been some concerns among your teachers that recently you've been, well, preoccupied," Principal Randall says sternly with a well-known glare that strikes fear in almost all the students. Almost.

"Preoccupied? Is that what they're calling it?" I question, with a hint of boredom on my face. With my hands still sticking in my jeans pocket, I silently fiddle with who-knows-what is inside. I begin to wonder what my subject teachers gossip about among themselves besides my faults.

The Principal hisses back, "Your grades have been slipping, your behaviour is erratic, not to mention your skin tone." Somehow, there is something about Randall that seems so familiar.

"I'm fine. There's nothing you need to worry about."

The Principal's stony glare vanishes and she unexpectedly reveals a sly smile, exuding a sense of evilness. She clasps her hands together and in a strangely calm voice, says, "I understand high school can be difficult. There's a sense of powerlessness that can sometimes overwhelm you."

Powerless, huh? I doubt if she even knows what the feeling of true power is. The feeling of pure evil taking over- what am I saying? "I don't feel powerless. Believe me."

"OK. Let's talk friends. Is there a particular group you've been spending time with?" Randall probes further.

I begin to recall memories of Ki- "No. I like to keep to myself." Something within me forced me to push aside those memories.

"How about a team? Well, I'm sure there's one that would just love to have an athletic young man, such as yourself, join. You ever think about that?"

My mind flashes back images of Mesogog and his henchmen asking me to join him. They weren't exactly asking, but more of threatening me to. "It's funny you should mention that. I was asked to join one just recently."

"And?" The Principal takes in a deep breath.

Smiling, I reply, "They were losers." I see a look of great disappointment on Randall's face. I lean forward and continue, "And I really don't see myself on a losing team. Now you're gonna understand that, right?" I feel a greater sense of satisfaction after throwing everything right back into her face.

Principal Randall lowers her head in defeat and, pushing her black-rimmed glasses further up the bridge of her nose, gives a slight nod.

I win.

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**TO BE CONTINUED...**

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So, how's the story? Think it's off to a good start? Hope you're looking forward to the next POV. :)


	2. On School Grounds

**White Lies**

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Disclaimer: I do not own PRDT. I never have, and never will. The events in the story are based on "The Missing Bone", whatever happens after that may or may not be parallel to the actual storyline.

Author's Note: The story will be mostly Conner/Kira/Trent and will be written as a compilation of POVs.

* * *

**Ethan**

"Good for three!" I shout, tossing a paper ball into a rectangular box Devin is holding. I think I'm getting a hang of this. I begin to wonder if this could become my new hobby. And speaking of new... "Hey, d'you guys know we're supposed to get a new teacher today?" "Yeah. Your guess is?" Conner replies as he throws a couple of paper balls (which completely misses the box, by the way).

"Well, I heard from a very reliable source that it's this 80-year-old woman who used to teach kindergarten in Ohio," Cassidy joins in. "Really?"

Just then, the door swings open and lo, and behold, it's gran- what? Principal Randall? What is she doing here? Her sudden entrance shocks everyone and all the students scramble to their seats.

"Good morning, class. I would like you to meet your new teacher, Dr. Anton Mercer," the Principal introduces in an unusually polite manner as Dr. Mercer steps into the class. My eyes widen as they lock on Dr. Mercer. From behind me, I hear Trent mutter, "Huh?" In a way, I kinda pity Trent. Poor guy. Imagine having your dad become your teacher. Man, that's killer. On the bright side, at least there's someone to keep an eye on the white ranger. That should lighten our problem of making sure Trent doesn't go around creating havoc.

Dr. Mercer walks across the room while making sweeping glances over the students. He has this weird smile plastered on his face. No matter what anyone says, he definitely gives me the creeps. Dr. Mercer stops directly in front of the class and greets, "Morning, class." No response. Everyone looks on in stunned silence.

Just then, Kira turns towards Cassidy and breaks the silence with a sarcastic remark. "Hey, she looks pretty good for eighty." I nearly burst out laughing but thank goodness, Devin interrupts with his rude laughter. Cassidy then swings her arm and whacks Devin in the shoulder. "Ow! What? I thought it was funny." How true.

Principal Randall seems to take note of the scene but simply ignores it completely and says, "Dr. Mercer has graciously agreed to take over until your teacher gets back on his feet. I would like you to treat him with the same respect that you would treat Dr. Oliver." With that, she turns and heads towards the door. "Thank you," replies Dr. Mercer, giving her a slight nod in acknowledgement.

Dr. Mercer turns to face us and, expressionlessly, he says, "Well, let me, uh, let me start by saying how honoured I am to be here. What I'm handing out to you now are permission slips. These are for your parents to sign. We'll be going on a field trip tomorrow - to a museum. I trust you will all be able to make it." Once he mentions the museum, my mind flashes back to my first trip to Dr. Mercer's dinosaur museum with Dr. O, Conner and Kira for detention. Immediately, I turn towards Conner and raise my eyebrows.

I'm starting to have a bad feeling about this. I mean... there's been so many rumours about the museum on all the urban legend websites. Besides, stuff happens out there. When I first warned Conner and Kira about the giant sinkhole in the forest area near the museum, I was right. I guess you can call it 'blue' intuition.

* * *

School's finally over. I walk out the building and across the field with Conner and Kira, with my hands still clutched tightly to the straps of my bag pack. "Anton Mercer teaching other people's children? He doesn't even like his own, from what I can tell," Kira comments. I agree, "Yeah. I wonder whose brilliant idea this whole thing was." "Huh. Gotta be Randall's. Did you see them together? It's like they're old pals," Kira suggests, dismissing the question.

"Hey, no matter how bad we've got it, it's always someone who's got it worse," Conner side-tracks, nodding his head towards the other end of the field. I turn to the direction Conner indicated and see Trent having an argument with his father. From a distance, Trent's voice can be heard. "I gotta go! I don't have time for this-" "Alright, fine. But I wanna talk to you later, understood?" Dr. Mercer replies, raising his voice a little as Trent ignores him and stomps off.

Kira faces us and asks, "Hm. What are you guys doing now?" Conner's immediate response is, "Soccer." "Computer club," I continue, "You?" "I promised Dr. O I'd help him inventory some stuff in the lab. Plus, he'd probably want to know who's teaching his class," Kira says matter-of-factly. "Yeah. I wonder what he'd have to say about it," Conner ponders. "Mm," I say, nodding in agreement with my eyebrows raised (again).

"See ya," Kira smiles, leaving the group. "See ya," Conner replies, also making his leave. "Later," I say, ending the conversation as we go our separate ways.

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**TO BE CONTINUED...**

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	3. Creepy Vibe

**White Lies**

_Disclaimer: I do not own PRDT. I never have, and never will. The events in the story are based on "The Missing Bone", whatever happens after that may or may not be parallel to the actual storyline._

_Author's Note: The story will be mostly Conner/Kira/Trent and will be written as a compilation of POVs._

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**Kira**

The moment I stepped into Dr. Oliver's house, I had not anticipated his reaction to the big news.

"That's great!" Dr. Oliver's voice pipes out from his helmet and slams into my brain.

"You're kidding, right?"

Dr. O replies defensively, "No. I know you think Anton's a little strange-"

"Ya. And Justin Timberlake's a little cute," I add, rolling my eyes.

Dr. O's shoulders sag a little. "Alright. He's a lot strange, but he's brilliant. He taught me a lot of what I know. He'll be great."

I force a tiny smile and give in. "If you say so."

"He really is an amazing person, once you get to know him."

I really hope Dr O's right. My mind wanders off a little but I turn my attention back to the bone in my hand. I turn the bone around to take a closer look at its label. As I feel its rough protusions and indentations, something tugs at my mind.

"Hey, where does this go?"

"Oh, you'd better give me that," Dr. O says, immediately retrieving it from my grasp.

"What is it?"

"Just a bone." Obviously.

"Ya, but why is it so important?"

"It needs to be kept safely in my hands. Let's just put it away," Dr. O shrugs off the question with a vague reply before hurriedly placing it into a case and locking it.

"Whatever you say." Something was off. If that bone turns out to be a special dino morpher, Conner will be pissed that Dr. O hid a potential power-up from him.

* * *

"Alright. Come along, now. We don't want to keep our prehistoric friends waiting," Mercer chirps. No matter how hard he tries, mixing Mercer and jokes only result in awkward moments.

I drag my feet to the entrance of the dinosaur museum. I suspect Mercer's got something up his sleeve. After all, it is _his_ museum. Anyhow, a field trip still beats dreary periods in school getting hit by paper planes. As I trudge past the giant life-like dinosaur greeting us at the entrance, my eyes won't leave that lizard. It keeps staring at me, no matter the angle.

"What's the matter?" Conner asks.

"That thing just gives me a creepy vibe. It's like it moved."

Conner and Ethan turn their heads and glance at the giant figurine.

"You know dinosaurs are extinct, right?" Ethan adds, raising an eyebrow.

I tilt my head slightly and give a dull stare in reply. We pilot dinozords at least once a week and you're telling me this?

"Ohhkay... I see your point," Ethan says, casting me a weird sideway glance before heading into the museum, Conner following suit.

I give the dinosaur a final warning glare before heading in, wishing I was as laidback as Conner and Ethan.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	4. Stray

**White Lies**

_Disclaimer: I do not own PRDT. I never have, and never will. The events in the story are based on "The Missing Bone", whatever happens after that may or may not be parallel to the actual storyline._

_Author's Note: The story will be mostly Conner/Kira/Trent and will be written as a compilation of POVs._

* * *

**Cassidy**

"...And just ahead here is the Triceratops, from the Cretaceous period. Strictly herbivore. Hunted by the Tyrannosaurus Rex," drones Dr. Mercer. But all I hear is "blah blah, herbivore, blah blah". Cool, some dinosaurs want to be vegetarian, like me. They gotta keep off the carbs, or they'll grow sideways.

I eye the miniature T-rex skeleton replica on display. Too bad for the T-rex. I guess that's one sign that you're too much of a picky eater.

Conner places a hand on Ethan's shoulder, then adds, "Gotta love the T-rex."

"Whatever, bro."

Hm... isn't Kira usually hanging around those two? Where is she? I scan the class for signs of the wannabe-singer. Nothing. As I turn to admire the rest of the dinosaur displays, I spot Kira straying from the class, heading towards a dark corridor. I strut behind her, noticing her peering curiously down the corridor.

"Hey, where are you going?"

Kira turns to look at me, with a stunned look on her face. Strange, her face seems paler than usual.

"Uh... to the bathroom?" she replies uncertainly. Liar. Fine, if you want to play it that way...

"Oh, great! Me too. Cos my lipgloss is totally wearing off."

"Look, Cassidy. Just stay here, okay? You're just going to get us both in trouble-"

Hm? There's nothing wrong with going to the bathroom, unless Kira's up to something. Theft, perhaps? Well, well. It looks like there's more to this goody-two-shoes than I thought.

"Whatever. I'm going to the little girl's room and you can do whatever you want," I say defiantly, rolling my eyes as I swivel to walk away. I'd better inform Dr. Mercer about this.

As I sashay boldly towards the main hall, a deep familiar voice booms behind me. "Miss Cornell," he announces. Speak of the devil.

I turn around.

"Come join us. We wouldn't want you to miss any of the exciting artifacts," Dr. Mercer says monotonously, in the same old boring tone he uses in class, almost as if he had been rehearsing that line for days.

"But what about-" I glance at the spot where Kira stood moments before. She's gone.

"-Come along now," Dr. Mercer urges, herding me towards the main hall. For some reason, Dr. Mercer seems intent on keeping me away from the corridor.

* * *

The moment I rejoin the herd, Dr. Mercer resumes his position in front of the group, looking assured that no one else is missing. Apparently, he missed Kira. She keeps such a low profile that practically most of her classmates and teachers don't know she exists, besides Dr. Oliver and the jock-geek duo. That's it! Conner and Ethan will probably know where she went.

I hurry to the middle of the group and tap Conner on the back. He turns to notice me, and a quizzical expression forms on his face.

"What's up, Cassidy?" Ethan greets, but he looks as confused as Conner.

"I saw Kira going off on her own. And it wasn't to the bathroom. Where did she go?"

"I have no idea. I thought she was behind us," Conner replies, his voice growing lower and softer. He glances at Ethan for a response, and Ethan nods in agreement. Conner's forehead has become creased. My throat feels dry now.

But Conner's face lightens up as he reassures, "You're probably worrying too much. Perhaps she went to the restroom after all."

"Yeah. Perhaps you're right," I say at last, deciding to drop the subject and return to my position in line. Time to powder my face to cover up those worry lines.

At the corner of my pocket mirror, I notice Conner and Ethan trailing the back the class, speaking in hushed tones. Finally, just when they think no one is looking, they slip away from the group, silently disappearing down the hallway.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	5. Strange Behaviour

**Chapter 5: Strange Behaviour**

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**White Lies**

_Disclaimer: I do not own PRDT. I never have, and never will. The events in the story are based on "The Missing Bone", whatever happens after that may or may not be parallel to the actual storyline._

_Author's Note: The story will be mostly Conner/Kira/Trent and will be written as a compilation of POVs. Thank you, __LatinaGurl96 as well as fellow readers, for spurring me on to continue this long overdue story._

* * *

**Conner**

It is not like her. Not like her at all. Disappearing in the middle of a fieldtrip like that. As much as she wishes to put up the rebel front, I know that her inner Hermione is in there. Not that I read Harry Potter or anything. It's just faster to watch the movies.

"Where could she have gone?" Ethan exclaims. His voice is increasing in pitch. Any further and he would sound like my aunt. And as quickly as the seconds tick by, something snaps. A faint shadow flashes behind one of the tall glass cases, accompanied by off-rhythm footsteps.

"There she is!" Ethan exclaims, a sweat-load of relief sweeping over him.

Kira appears at the end of the large hall, panting and pale-faced. She lightly pinches the bridge of her nose and shakes her head into focus.

"Kira! Kira!" Ethan calls out.

We frantically rush over to her.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Ethan asks.

She looks up, slightly dazed.

"Huh? Uh… yeah. I'm fine. I just got lost," she replies, her gaze averting our stares and darting about unfocusedly, sounding not quite convincing.

Did I just hear that right? "Lost?" I repeat, edging my head closer and raising my eyebrows.

"AsinnotfoundbutI'mfine. Areweleaving?" Kira answers hurriedly, her stare trails from me to Ethan and intensifies to punctuate her last sentence.

Ethan's eyes are wide open in disbelief, his face looking like he had just seen Dr. O on the dance floor. "Yeah, we're leaving-"

"-Great, let's go," she says definitively through gritted teeth, barely brushing past Ethan as she heads for the exit.

Our heads turn to follow the girl who, in an instant, seems to have morphed into a stranger. Ethan turns back to me with a "what-was-that-about" glance, leaving me with no clue how to respond except to leave.

* * *

_[Later, at Hayley's Cyberspace…]_

"Something's not right," Ethan murmurs to himself as he taps his pen, obviously distracted from his work.

Why wouldn't he be? After all, Kira's hiding something from us and we don't know what that is. I'm worried as hell, not just from wondering what had happened back there, but also worried that something might have happened to her.

My head is running through an endless list of worst case scenarios and I am mentally cursing myself with each one, hoping that neither one of them turns out to be true.

In the meantime, Kira is just sitting at the bar stool doing her work, practically ignoring Ethan and me like we did not even exist. How's that for friendship?

And Hayley comes to the rescue.

"Hey, Kira. How come you're not sitting with the guys?"

Unflinching, with her hand still propping her face, Kira responds with snide disinterest, "What, we have to do everything together?"

"Well no, but you usually do, don't you?" Hayley asks, her forehead furrowing and brows narrowing.

"Not anymore."

Hayley slightly retracts in shock.

Kira turns to face her.

"Look, Hayley. I don't mean to be rude but I need to get this done for Dr. Mercer's class."

Hayley seems to take that as a reasonable explanation, probably thinking that all the pressure must be getting to Kira and that she needs some time alone. Anyway, what's up with Kira getting serious about Mercer's class?

Hayley seems to be on a different topic, but sharing the same sentiment.

"Ugh, I'll never get used to the sound of that. Dr. Mercer's class?"

"Hey, he's a really good teacher and we're gonna learn a lot from him."

And what's with that textbook response?

"Okay, whatever you say, Kira," Hayley says, deflated and defeated. She retreats from the bar and shakes her head as she releases a hopeless sigh.

I- We didn't mean to eavesdrop on their conversation, but that is it. Swiftly, I move out of my seat and inwardly prepare myself to face Kira, putting up a normal front and pretending that I did not hear everything they had just said. Ethan instinctively follows behind.

Okay. Act casual. Casual stroll. Casual chat.

"Hey, you wanna go to a movie tonight?" Wait, that came out wrong. I hope she doesn't take it the wrong way. Thank goodness Ethan's here-

"No." Great. I guess I don't have to worry about that now.

I press my lips into a thin straight line to contain my frustration. Ethan looks on with an expression that crosses between disgust and "oh-no-you-didn't". My muscles tense.

At the moment, I am at a loss. Kira's word stung and pretty much ended the conversation right there and then. All I can manage now is, "You know, when someone doesn't want to hang out with people, they usually come up with some sort of excuse."

Kira turns to face us, then states matter-of-factly, "Look, I just don't feel like spending any more time with you guys than I really have to. Okay?" she pauses for a fleeting second, as if expecting a response, then continues, "I have to go. I have something to do."

She grabs her laptop, holding it protectively to her chest, slides out of her stool and heads for the exit just as Ethan dodges out of her way.

"What's up with her?" Ethan asks.

I wish I knew.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	6. Tainted Note

**Chapter 6: Tainted Note**

* * *

**White Lies**

_Disclaimer: I do not own PRDT. I never have, and never will. The events in the story are based on "The Missing Bone", whatever happens after that may or may not be parallel to the actual storyline._

_Author's Note: The story will be mostly Conner/Kira/Trent and will be written as a compilation of POVs._

* * *

**Trent**

After enduring several painfully boring days of lessons by Dad, including a science report about what we had learnt from the fieldtrip, I am surprised to find a note mysteriously tucked away in the side pocket of my bag pack. The handwriting is terribly messy, bordering on illegible, almost seemingly purposefully scribbled as a form of encryption. I had almost passed it off as rough paper that had been doodled on in class.

_I have something you want. Meet me today in the museum at 6 pm. Come alone._

There is no name; no indication of who it could be. However, the choice of location piques my interest. More importantly, when had the note been delivered? How could I, a master of stealth, have been beaten at my own game right under my nose?

My mind struggles to recall the events of the day. I had slugged my bag pack around school with me for the entire day, which makes it almost impossible for the note to be delivered today. Unless…

Yes, I do remember bumping into Kira earlier in the day. It was brief, but she hurried off immediately without bothering to excuse herself, which is unlike her. Now what could the yellow ranger have that I want? Is she threatening to expose me as white ranger to Cassidy or the press with a piece of evidence if I don't stop what I am doing? Please. I can just as easily expose her and her friends.

I decide to go anyway, just to play along. I go an hour earlier to stake out at the location. Besides Frank, the burly security guard, there is no one else outside the museum. At 6 pm, still no one shows up. Just then, a beam of light sweeps past my location and stops.

"Hey, you over there! Come out with your hands behind your head!" yells the security guard, aiming his metallic torchlight at my hiding spot in the forest. He is holding the torchlight together with a dark coloured baton in one hand, while the other hand reaches for his holster at his side.

My muscles tense for a split second. Then they relax.

"Okay, okay! Frank, it's just me," I reply, stepping out of the forest in compliance.

"Oh, it's Mercer's kid. Trendall, right?"

"Trent," I quickly correct.

"So why are you hiding in the woods?" Frank asks with raised eyebrows.

My heart skips a beat.

"Oh darn. You caught me. Well done, Frank. You've passed the test."

"What test?"

"Oh, just standard procedure to test how alert the security guards are. You know how upper management is like," I blurt, shrugging my shoulders.

Frank's jaws stiffen.

"I see. By the way, the upper management is inside this building. They would like to see you now. I'd suggest you cooperate," Frank asserts, one hand clamping firmly on my forearm, the other nudging his holster.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


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